Residents press Riverbank council for more time and fuller access to Riverwalk EIR and cite flooding concerns

Multiple speakers at the March 12 meeting urged Riverbank councilors to extend the comment period for the Riverwalk project's draft environmental impact report and to make all technical documents easier to find and review.

Dave Romano, representing the Riverwalk Project, thanked the council for a February 27 workshop and said the project's environmental impact report shows the proposed development is outside the 200-year floodplain under recently enacted state policy (SB 5). Romano said Chapter 3.9 of the EIR provides details and encouraged the public to review the document.

Other commenters, including Libby Longstrap and Karen Conrado, said the volume of material (more than 2,600 pages) makes meaningful public comment difficult and asked for extra time. Conrado also cautioned that proposed levee adjustments or height increases could change flooding patterns and increase risk to neighboring areas.

Jamie Eggers, who said she has expertise in reviewing similar documents, asked the council to extend the comment deadline and noted Spanish-language outreach had been extended; staff confirmed an extension recommendation for Spanish materials would come back to the council with a firm date and said both English and Spanish materials are online.

Council directed staff to return with a proposed firm extension date for public comments on the DEIR and noted the city had posted a condensed Riverwalk presentation and both language versions of the specific plan on the project web page.